Fasten Your Seatbelts, Ontario

    QUICK FACTS

  • In 1976, Ontario became the first province in Canada to make seatbelts mandatory.
  • Driving without a seatbelt carries a fine of $110 and two demerit points upon conviction. About 680,000 Ontarians still do not regularly buckle up.
  • Booster seats and child safety seats are mandatory for children under age eight who weigh less than 36 kilograms (80 pounds), and are less than 145 centimetres (4 feet, 9 inches) tall. Drivers who do not correctly use booster seats or child safety seats for their young passengers face two demerit points and a $110 fine.

Seatbelts And Child Safety Seats Save Lives

Seatbelt safety blitzes and child safety seat inspection clinics will be held across the province during the first two weeks of October to remind drivers and passengers to buckle up and make sure children are safely secured.

Local police, fire, emergency medical services, public health units and volunteer organizations will join forces to spread the word that seatbelts, child safety seats and booster seats save lives.

Failing to wear your seatbelt while driving makes you about 38 times more likely to be killed in a crash than if you did buckle up. That is why Ontario's one person, one seatbelt law requires every occupant in a motor vehicle to buckle up properly. Drivers must ensure children under age 16 are correctly secured in the appropriate child safety seat, booster seat or seatbelt.

"Wearing your seatbelt properly will dramatically increase your chances of surviving a crash," said Transportation Minister Jim Bradley. "Drivers and passengers must buckle up and parents need to make sure their children are safely secured - it's the law in Ontario for the best reason in the world: seatbelts and child safety seats save lives."

 
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